Encouraging STEM careers: Opinion

A recently issued U.S. Department of Commerce report, "STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future," can be summarized with three points:

" STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs grew at a rate three times that of non-STEM jobs in the first decade of this century;

" STEM jobs are projected to grow by 17 percent over the second decade of this century; and

" STEM workers will help America stay at the forefront of the world's economy by generating new ideas, new companies and new industries.

And a side note: STEM workers earn 26 percent more than non-STEM workers, even those with more education, and are less likely to experience joblessness.

With those statistics, one would expect students to be storming the gates of the colleges and universities to get trained in these fields. Sadly, they are not. At this time, only about a third of bachelor's degrees earned in the U.S. are in STEM fields. How do we compare? In China that figure is 53 percent, and in Japan, 63 percent.

Similarly, even in this tough economic time with high unemployment, large numbers of jobs are going unfilled - those with the need for an educational background in the STEM fields. The most recent studies indicate that there are nearly 600,000 unfilled jobs.

So what are the barriers? In one recent study of young adults (ages 16 to 25), 60 percent named at least one factor that prevented them from pursuing further education or work in the STEM fields. Thirty-four percent said they don't know much about the fields, a third said they were too challenging, and 28 percent said they were not well prepared at school to seek further education in these areas.

The California Community Colleges are stepping in to help address each of those issues. Here in the Inland Empire, the San Bernardino Community College District, through San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC), Crafton Hills College (CHC) and our Economic Development and Corporate Training Division (EDCT), are all working with both the K-12 schools and our local universities to encourage young people to consider entering STEM fields by exposing them to a wide range of STEM activities and introducing them to the types of work done by successful scientists, engineers and mathematicians. Introducing our students to positive role models is a proven way to stimulate student interest in a career path.

Among the most recent was an event at CHC funded by a U.S. Department of Education STEM grant that brought 100 high school students to campus for the first SciFri. Students began the day hearing from keynote speaker Laura Schoepf, assistant professor in biochemistry from UC Riverside, who spoke on research, STEM fields and college life. The high school students then rotated through three STEM activities.

SBVC, a recipient of a Department of Education H.S.I. STEM grant in partnership with Cal State San Bernardino (CSUSB), is directing its activities primarily to providing support mechanisms intended to enhance the success, completion, graduation and transfer rates of Hispanic students, low-income and underrepresented students in the STEM disciplines. One of the first activities under the grant is open to the public and scheduled for March 15 from 8 a.m. to noon in the campus auditorium. Focusing on the achievements and contributions of women in mathematics and science, they will introduce students to individuals who have applied both disciplines to their chosen professions. Students participating will have the opportunity to be involved in one of five break-out sessions where they will receive hands-on experience in a STEM field.

Our EDCT Division is involved with advancing these fields all year round, working with college, elementary, middle and high school students in various combinations. March is a particularly active month for events, including:

" NASCAR, in conjunction with the Alliance for Education, will hold Math and Science Day at the speedway on March 22, bringing 600 middle school kids for a day of activities relating STEM to auto racing.

" The Conference for Innovative Education takes place at CSUSB on March 23 and is subtitled "Creativity, STEM and 21st Century Learning." The conference provides the entire educational community with insights, cognitive tools and teaching methods to support learning in an age of rapid technological, environmental and social changes.

" A robotics competition takes place at the CSUSB Cousoulis Arena March 29-30. Fifty teams of high school students from three states and Inland Empire schools will demonstrate their original robots, competing for honors.

To learn more about the opportunities available in these burgeoning fields and to take advantage of these activities, visit our website (sbccd.org) and select the appropriate site. The more we can engage young people in the STEM fields, the more stable career options they will have available to them and the better off our community will be.

Bruce Baron is chancellor of the San Bernardino Community College District.